Fusible support for hatch-doors



(No Model.)

G. C. HINE.

FUSIBLE SUPPORT FOR HATCH DOORS, &0.

No. 449,414. Patented Mar. 31,1891.

Ghee/171428 G. fIj/J ue A 1 BY 022mm. 0% ATT'Y WITNESSES UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

CHARLES C. HINE, OF NEWARK, NEYV JERSEY.

FUSIBLE SUPPORT FOR HATCH-DOORS, 84.0.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 449,414, dated March 31, 1891: Application filed December 8, 1883. Serial No. 292,861. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES C. HINE, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Device for Fusible Supports for Hatchway-Doors, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements for holding open trap-doors or other covers for elevators or stairways in buildings, &c., as long as the temperature remains normal, but in case of excessive heat the holding device will allow the door to close automati cally; and my invention has for its object to provide for the automatic closing of the doors or hatch-covers in a building in case of a fire in a quicker, more certain, and reliable manner than has heretofore been accomplished by this class of devices. In hatchway attachments heretofore used for this purpose I am fully aware that fusible links which melt as soon as the temperature becomes intense have been applied to the backs of the hatch-covers when in their raised or open positions, which, however, has a great disadvantage in case of a fire, in that the flames from the floors beneath can leap through the opening in the floor before the heat therefrom or the flames themselves melt the joint behind the door and allow the same to drop and close the opening in the floor.

My invention therefore consists in supportingadoor or hatch-cover by means of metallic straps having a fusible joint. The metallic straps are secured to the door or hatch-cover in such a manner that the fusible joint is on the front or exposed side of the door when the door is in its open position, so that said strap and its fusible joint are presented to the first attack of the ascending heat, and thereby allow the door to close in a quicker and more certain manner. I

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the interior of an elevator-shaft with a trap-door shown in its open position and held therein by the use of my improved support. Fig. 2 represents in side elevation a trap-door held in its open and normally in a forwardly-inclined position by means of my improved supporting means for allowing the door to close automatically in case of excessive heat. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the herein-described support for holding open the door, said view being drawn on a larger scale, clearly illustrating the construction of the support; and Fig. at is a vertical section of the same.

In the above-described views, in which similar letters of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts in each of the several figures, A represents a trap-door or any other like covering, and said door, as will be seen, is held in its open position by the straps B and B, which may be made of metal or any other suitable material joined together by an interposed mass 0 of easily-fusible solder, which holds the straps B and B together in one continuous rigid piece. be evident that a number of such metal straps or plates joined by a suitable number of fusible connections or fusible joints 0 can be secured directly to the door.

To hold the door in its open position, the one end of the supporting device B is firmly secured by means of pins or screws inserted through the perforations h therein to the front side of the door when open. The strap Bis reversely curved and extends over the edge of the door and its end is firmly secured to the wall or other adjacent part of the building by pins or screws inserted through perforations b therein.

The fusible joint or connection may be composed of a substance which will fuse or melt or unsolder upon exposure to heat of the proper temperature, such as metallic or other solder, varnish, gluten, phosphoric compound, sulphur, or any other suitable material.

As has been stated,and as will be clearly seen from the drawings, I have arranged the fusible mass 0 in such a position upon the exposed side of the door that said connection will receive the direct action and the first attack of the ascending heat or flames in the case of a fire.

I do not claim a fusible joint, broadly, nor do I claim links or hooks connected bya fusible joint, for such links and joints are old. W'here links are employed, the difficulty experienced is that the device for holding open the door is flexible and a jar upon the door Of course it will ICO heat.

will easily break the connected links or hooks where they are joined by means of the soft fusible metal. Another difficulty in such construction is that when a hatch-door which is thus held open is struck and forced back it leans against the wall, causing the flexible connection to hang loosely Without holding the door in its forwardly-inclined position. Now in case of lire, should the door have been accidentally forced back into such a position, the fusible links will melt, but the door will not fall by its own weight and the flames will readily be communicated to the next floor. In my construction by employing metallic straps when they are joined by the fusible metal a rigid support is the result, which prevents the door from swinging upon its hinges, and hence there is no danger of the straps B and B becoming separated and the door closin g until said straps have been separated by The hatch-door is at all times normally held in its forwardly-inclined position, as indioated in Fig. 2.

I prepare the supports as an article of manufacture complete and entire for sale ready for use, and the same can be applied by any person by simply securing the ends of the straps by means of screws or pins to the trap door and the wall, as will be understood.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim is- A device for supporting ahatchway-door, consisting of a flat plate adapted to be secured to the underside of the door, a reversely-cnrved plate extending over the edge of the door and adapted to be secured to the Wall beyond, and a mass of fusible solder interposed between the adjacent ends of the plates and uniting them, all substantially as described.

CHARLES C. HINE.

Witnesses:

H. J. ORFEOR, THOMAS W. SMITH. 

